From the series between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton The Oilers expected a lot, but certainly not a complete defeat from one of the teams. 3-0 in favor of the Panthers after the first three matches of the final — hardly anyone believed in such a development even before the start of the battle for the Stanley Cup. Moreover, according to its scenario, such a result was fair: in the first game, Florida gave Edmonton control of the puck and won due to the phenomenal play of Sergei Bobrovsky, who scored a shutout, and in the next two matches, the Panthers literally devoured the powerful attack of the Oilers. , leaving a couple of the best hockey players in the world, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, without goals.
For McDavid and Draisaitl, the duel against Bobrovsky, in principle, in the course of their careers is going quite poorly. Before the 2024 final, the Edmonton star couple had 10 head-to-head meetings with the Russian goalkeeper and scored only three goals against the Russian. In the new confrontation, the Canadian and the German were completely mired in despondency. But not for good.
The fourth match of the final, which took place in Edmonton, became a game of life for the local club, although it could have become a game of death. One defeat and the season is over. The Oilers did everything to continue the battle for the trophy, and were successful in this.
In the first 15 minutes of the meeting, the Oilers scored three goals at once: Mattias Janmark, Adam Henrik and Dylan Holloway scored in turn. Their trio was diluted only by Florida's Russian super forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who scored the fifth goal of his career in the Stanley Cup finals. In terms of the number of goals in the final series of the NHL playoffs, the Russian came close to the record holders among hockey players from Russia Sergei Fedorov and Evgeni Malkin (both — 8 goals), as well as Nikita Kucherov (6). However, Vladi’s efforts were not enough.
In the second period, Edmonton continued to tear apart the Florida defense, which acted extremely irresponsibly, as if believing that the series lasted only three games. There was so much space in front of Bobrovsky's goal that the Oilers scored everything. In the first five minutes of the period, even Connor McDavid and Darnell Nurse, at whom the entire hockey world laughs, scored. The goal of the highly paid but unreliable defender of the Oilers condemned Bobrovsky — the Panthers headquarters replaced the famous Russian goalkeeper, who missed five goals after 17 shots on target.
However, Bob himself was not depressed about this. As if he understood that this was just one game in the series, and not the result of the entire battle.
Replacing Bobrovsky with Anthony Stolarz, who made his debut in this NHL playoffs, did not help Florida. The American conceded less than 10 minutes after entering the court. And he had few chances, because after a small scuffle the Oilers received the right to play in the “5 on 3” format and for the first time in this final series they converted a power play.
McDavid also took part in this goal, scoring another assist. This assist was already the 31st for the star Canadian in the playoffs. Thus, McD repeated the seemingly eternal record of Wayne Gretzky, who also recorded 31 assists in the Oilers' championship season in 1988. Connor didn’t stop there and soon scored an assist hat-trick. In the third period, the Oilers scored twice more, one of the goals with the participation of the Canadian superstar. Now it is McDavid who holds the NHL record for the most assists in one playoff game. Gretzky's record lasted 36 years!
In the end, 8:1 — Edmonton achieved a confident, large and, most importantly, extremely important victory for itself in the final, extending the series by at least one match. The showdown returns to Sunrise, where Florida can win the Stanley Cup in front of its fans. The historic series between Detroit and Washington in 1998, when the Red Wings swept the Capitals (4-0), remains the last when the final was limited to a victory of one of the teams in four games.
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